


Challenge

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Annie-Centric, Character Study, F/M, Gen, Please dont kill me, this is my first fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 02:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1924068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie has always loved a challenge, and Eren challenges everything she thought she knew</p>
            </blockquote>





	Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> heyyy this is my first fic and Annie is my bae and i love her and Eren and i just get them and i love their relationship and oh god they had so much potential FEEDBACK IS MUCH APPRECIATED THANK  
> thanks to my lovely beta http://that-one-loser-chick.tumblr.com/ everyone go follow her shes perf BYE

Annie has always loved fighting.

Annie has always loved a _challenge_.

It’s probably unhealthy, all things considered, but that’s not important, and she really doesn’t care.

Fighting makes Annie feel _alive_ in ways that nothing else can, not shifting, not the mission, not even killing Titans can come _close_ to the feeling of her fist connecting solidly with someone else, the feeling of having to _try,_ the feeling of a _challenge_.

God does she love a challenge.

Because the world is convinced that fighting is some sort of _dance_ with practiced movements and too much dodging and not enough _attacking,_ never enough _feeling_. _Feeling_ how your opponent will move, anticipating and retaliating with pain and force and _power_. The feeling of being _strong,_ and _independent_. Fighting isn’t control; it’s the opposite. It’s the _fear_ and the _rush_ of not knowing, of being ready, of moving, of _rebelling._ Rebelling against what, she was never sure, but it never mattered, it never would. The feeling of someone’s fist colliding with her cheek, the feeling of her knee in their stomach, the taste of blood in her mouth, the bruised knuckles, the surge of _pride_ when she stands victorious, the _thrill_ of a challenge, a _true_ challenge, not the other shifters’ pathetic attempts to outdo her. They were mediocre at best; she could take them all in her sleep with one hand regenerating.

Her father had been the only one who could challenge her back home.

 

When they started training camp, they called Annie a slacker. She snuck away from training exercises though she knew she shouldn’t. They were supposed to _blend in,_ but she can’t be like the other two, she _can’t_ pretend that she needs this, that this is a challenge. Because what it is, in the end, is complete _bullshit._ Throwing them in with those who they’re supposed to _kill._ Forcing them to act like regular teenagers, telling them to make _friends_. Annie can’t humor them, can’t even _pretend_ to think that this isn’t the _dumbest_ thing she’s ever heard, like it’s not just _begging_ them to get attached, to compromise the mission. And when Reiner and Bertolt corner her later and scold her about _blending in_ , it’s all Annie can do not to _scoff._

So when they start hand-to-hand combat training, Annie is fully prepared to sneak off like she does for every stupid drill. What she _doesn’t_ expect however, is to be stopped by a lean boy with fiery green eyes and shaggy brown hair that needs to be cut three days ago. She never expected to be called out on her actions, to be _challenged,_ and god knows she’s been desperate for one of those. So when the boy (she will later learn his name is Eren Jaeger), asks, no, _demands_ that she show why she thinks she can leave practice, she gladly flips him flat on his ass, much to Reiner’s amusement (of course he’s less amused when she does the same to him, but hey, that’s not her problem). After that, she assumes the boy will leave her alone, that he will sulk over being beaten by a girl, that he will not speak to her again (sometimes she wishes that was what happened, it would’ve saved her a lot of grief), but as Annie would come to learn, this boy was simply too stubborn and too determined to do anything of the sort.

Even as practiced as she was keeping a poker face, Annie still could barely hide her shock when the boy asked her to teach him, to spar with him despite the fact that she just coldly handed him his ass, but she had to agree to help him, challenges only came by so often in her life anymore.

Annie surprised herself with how easily she bantered with this boy, and he surprised her back with his determination to learn, his refusal to give up and his humor even as she threw him down again and again. Later, she would worry about the possibility of becoming attached and compromising the Mission, but then, the Mission didn’t seem important, a distant memory compared to this bright, fiery, _determined_ boy in front of her. This impulsive, brave, hilarious, _idiot_ she was teaching, the boy she would come to respect, to befriend, to care for _so much more_ than she should have. And when Mikasa all but _throws_ Reiner at them after Eren grins at her particularly brightly, it’s all Annie can do not to laugh along with Reiner at Mikasa’s fierce glare and Eren’s obvious confusion.

She can’t help the surge of pride at dinner, when Eren uses a familiar move against Jean in their nightly fight, and succeeds in slamming him flat on his back in the dining hall.

 

The training takes its toll all of the 104th trainees. Many go home, several die, and every day is one grueling trial after the other and through it all, Eren _insists_ she continue teaching him everything she knows. She insists they don’t have enough time, and he insists that she can _try_ , that she has to at least _try_. (He says it like it’s a challenge, and she’s always loved a challenge).

So night after night, they spar, Annie teaches him punches and kicks and complicated maneuvers that will knock someone twice their size on their ass (she should know, she practiced on Reiner). And night after night, they talk, and Annie gets to know Eren, gets to know the fire in his eyes and the stubborn set to his jaw, the restlessness in his limbs. And without realizing it, she teaches him about her in return. About the softness hidden in her eyes, the suspicious set of her lips, the predatory way she moves. They learn about each other. About their bodies and personalities and fears and secrets, all in a language beyond words and beyond anyone else but them in their own world, they challenge each other, late at night, out in the woods, where the only witnesses are the shadows and stars.

They grow to respect each other, and slowly but surely, they grow to like each other, to become friends, to become _more_. Secret smiles across the dining hall, ankles crossed and hands linked below the table, ignoring glares from Mikasa, Reiner, and Bertolt, ignoring knowing smiles and obnoxious winks from everyone else. (In her bunk at night Annie thinks about the Mission, fears compromising it for his sake, and eventually decides she doesn’t care, because they will respect her, but they will never accept her, never _love_ her, not the way _he_ does).

Their first kiss comes awkward and nervous, when the trainees manage to sneak off and have a bonfire, and someone (probably Ymir) manages to scrounge up some alcohol. Their friends are drunk, and it’s surprisingly easy to sneak off. They stare at each other in the trees, a silent standoff, a challenge to see who will be brave enough to do what they’ve all only heard about, never experienced, never seen. And Annie has never backed down from a challenge. So she tangles her hand in his hair and pulls him down hard, and maybe their teeth clack, and maybe it’s kind of slobbery, but Annie couldn’t care less. (Fuck the Mission, she has _this_ and this is better than anything _they_ could ever give her).

 

In the end, it’s only the thought of her father that keeps her out of the Survey Corps and in the Military Police, but even with all his talk about not getting too attached, she can’t say she’s surprised when Reiner joins the Survey Corps and Bertolt isn’t far behind. (But it’s not them she cares about, it’s never been them). Thoughts of Eren keep her up, wondering if he is the Coordinate, hoping he survives, missing the feel of his lips, and the fire in his eyes, the determination and passion that burned in his soul. She misses how he challenged her, every fight, every day, every word. She misses him.

When they fight in Sina, she feels a surge of pride when Eren takes the fighting stance she taught him, when he uses her moves against her. But when she sees Eren, when she knows he _knows_ when she sees the _pain_ and _betrayal_ in his eyes, her father isn’t worth it, the mission isn’t worth it, it’s not _worth it._ Nothing is worth losing him.

Annie has always taken on every challenge; she has always come out on top. This is why she is chosen for the Mission. She knows this; they all know this.

But as she shrinks into her cocoon, her eyes on him, and only him, she thinks to herself, “ _I failed the only challenge that truly mattered.”_

**Author's Note:**

> ok so for the record i finished and posted this at 1 in the morning so forgive the cheesy ass ending until i can think of something better this seemed like a better idea at 1 am also so if it sucks and you hate it please tell me but let me down gently!


End file.
